Website Content Writing Rates: The Hidden Truth Exposed

If you’ve decided to hire a firm to handle your website content writing, one of the first considerations is how much the services are going to cost. The answer depends on many different factors; it will vary based on your industry and how technical the writing needs to be to appeal to your target audience. Plus, the type of content you need is a factor, whether you’re seeking landing pages, blogs, white papers or online material.

If you’re just getting your feet wet with hiring website content writing services, the waters can seem a little murky. But once you have some basic information, you can avoid the hidden truths and costs.

Start off by asking yourself the right questions.

What type of content do I want the agency to complete?

When you’re looking for a firm to manage your social media profiles, you’re going to be paying a different rate than if you want high-quality blog posts or video content. In most cases involving text material, you’re paying by the word; a video production company might charge you a flat rate for a completed project or by the amount of time it takes them to put together a piece.

Do I need a single piece or ongoing work?

If you need just one project from time to time, it’s likely that you’ll be paying a fee per job. However, you might want to consider hiring a company that will take over your entire online marketing campaign, which includes benefits like content strategy, analytics assessment and a comprehensive approach to raising awareness of your brand.

What’s my budget?

Obviously, you can only hire the content writing firm that works within your budget, and that amount is usually based on your company’s total revenue. The rule of thumb is to go with the most reputable agency you can afford and have the team tackle as many projects as you can pay them for.

What are the goals I want to see with website content writing?

With this question, the answer isn’t as easy as “I want to make more money.” You need to look at factors such as your website traffic, unique visitors and bounce rate, and determine specifically where you’d like to see improvement. Do you want to improve your rankings on the search engine results page? The costs of a firm that specializes in SEO might be different than one which focuses solely on content.

Know the five basic ways website content writing services charge.

1. Pay per word: This fee schedule works well when you’re looking for projects of a particular word length and you’ve set the parameters for the material. If you need content built around a keyword or phrase, you’ll either need to provide the information or pay for the agency to conduct the research.

2. Flat fee per page: Similar to the per word structure, paying by the page works well for longer projects. Make sure you and the agency agree on exactly how long a “page” is considered.

3. Project based: When you’re able to list your goals, expectations and measurements for success, you might want to consider paying by the project. This approach eliminates the hassles of keeping track of how much time a firm spends on the work and word counting.

4. By the hour: If a significant amount of research is involved, you might be paying for the agency’s time investment. You can avoid the higher cost by providing materials and a defined outline for the piece. In this case, you want to make sure to include a deadline for completion.

5. Retainer: This structure means that you’re hiring the agency for a certain number of hours per week or month; you agree on the project parameters and pay in advance. The agency promises to dedicate the time, and your fees are hourly.

Armed with some of this essential information on how website content writing firms charge for projects, you can work within your budget to find the right agency for your company. Does this change your perspective on content writing costs? Do you feel like your company is getting its money’s worth from your service? Let us know what you think.

About Jon wuebben

Jon Wuebben is the CEO of Content Launch, which offers the first content marketing software built for small and medium sized businesses (SMB’s) and digital agencies. Content Launch also provides content writing and content strategy services for hundreds of companies and digital agencies. His book, "Content is Currency: Developing Powerful Content for Web & Mobile", helps businesses learn how to plan, create, distribute and manage content. "Content is Currency" has been published in six countries worldwide.

Jon has spoken at Content Marketing World, Online Marketing Summit, South by Southwest (SXSW), Marketing Profs B2B Forum, Search Marketing Expo (SMX), Social Media Marketing World, New Media Expo, Intelligent Content Conference, Content Marketing Retreat, Lavacon, ADMA (Australia), BIA Kelsey Small Business Forum, the Media Relations Summit and for many organizations, including Hubspot, Intuit, the American Marketing Association and Shop.org as well as industry groups in the areas of content marketing, mobile marketing and entrepreneurship. He has been listed as a thought leader in the content marketing space by countless publications since 2008.